


Tell Me More

by TranscendentalSpaceGem



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Anniversary, Aquariums, Dating, Established Relationship, F/M, Fic Trade, Fish, Flirting, Gift Fic, Sharks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:48:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26055214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TranscendentalSpaceGem/pseuds/TranscendentalSpaceGem
Summary: Steven and Connie may not be able to agree on when exactly their anniversary is but they can agree that many more days like this one are ahead of them.
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe
Comments: 10
Kudos: 35





	Tell Me More

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KahanniAlone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KahanniAlone/gifts).



> I wrote this as part of a art-fic trade with fellow Connie Stan, Ramen. She is an amazing artist and huge sweetheart and I am super excited to show people the art that she made for me when the time comes. Until then here is the fanfic I made with a lot of care for this very special person.

While they certainly aren’t like most other young couples, the only truly strange thing about Steven and Connie’s romantic relationship is that they have two different anniversaries. The day he considers the start of their relationship and the day she does. Something that they were both surprised to find when they celebrated their first year together.

The dates are only two days apart and while they tend to jokingly fight about who actually has the correct date they’ve never really talked about why the dates are different. There hasn’t been much of a need considering the only actual conflict is it sometimes makes planning ways to celebrate difficult. Often they’ll each plan something for their day meaning they celebrate twice. This led to the day of their anniversary to become more the week of their anniversary instead. Not that either would ever complain about that. More time together was never a _bad_ thing.

Steven's travels have currently brought him around the country's border into the Peach State, not far from the Florida archipelago. He is staying in the city of Atlas which happens to be home to the biggest aquarium in the whole country. That is the most likely explanation for why in order to celebrate Steven's date for their anniversary (which is of course the earlier of the two dates) the couple ended up there.

They are walking hand in hand through the entryway into the building when Steven leans over to say, "Happy anniversary. We've o-fish-illy been together for 4 years."

"Not for two more days." Connie still giggles at the pun though as she teases him though. Obviously that's her date for their anniversary and Steven rolls his eyes.

"Hey, you're not allowed to say that," he says, tightening his hold on her hand as she tries to open the pamphlet they got up front with only her free hand. Connie notices his grip is strong. Unnaturally so or rather more unnatural than it usually is, "It's the rule. On my anniversary day, you don't correct me and on your anniversary day, I don't correct you."

"That's weird. I don't remember that rule," she replies with a thinking face, astonishingly having found a way to open the reading material. As far as she knows that hasn’t been a rule. In fact teasing about which is the accurate date for their anniversary is often part of their celebrations.

"Well, that’s because I just made it up. Right now," he answers, swinging their clasped hands as they walk and making it a little hard for her to read the map. She’s too happy to be with him after about three weeks apart to be upset with him. Honestly she probably wouldn’t have been upset either way. Connie has always been too smitten with Steven to be bothered by much he does, even when it inconveniences her.

"You can't make up new rules about our relationship without asking me," she says, ignoring the first hall she sees to lead him down towards the third. Steven smiles, knowing Connie probably has the whole place mapped out already despite having just gotten the map. He would bet that she has them on the most efficient path to see as much as possible before closing time as well. "In which case I can choose to ignore your rule since you failed to submit your proposal through the proper channels."

"I failed to do what?" he asks as actual tanks of fish come into view. He doesn't always know exactly what she means when she says things like that. However Steven still really likes it when Connie talks intellectually as if he does understand. Context more often than not clues him in on the meaning. “Are you telling me that we have to clear every new rule for our relationship with each other?”

“That’s only fair, don’t you think?” Steven looks like he wants to argue her point. Connie giggles before he can and says "Come on. Let's just look at the fish now."

She pulls him towards the first tank in the first room, impressing Steven on how she deftly shifts the pamphlet in her hand to read up on this section of the aquarium. Connie’s fingers are long but thin. His hand dwarfs hers and he’s almost surprised they can comfortably interlock fingers from their size difference. He suspects that years of reading has given her this ability since in her daily life she is not a particularly graceful person. Although she always looks elegant to him.

“There’s a tiny description of this room in here,” she explains, “It says “these specimens are not under any protective care but due to the limited number of them in the aquarium they are kept in their own tanks away from their natural predators.” Huh. That’s cool.”

“The fish aren’t always in their own tanks?” he asks as they wait for a small family to move so they can step up to the tank. Steven has never been to an aquarium before. Connie has been to a few thanks mostly to school trips.

“Some of them do,” she answers as the small family wanders away and they can move closer, “But there is also usually this big section that’s supposed to simulate a natural ocean habitat.”

“That’s so cool!” His eyes light up when he says that. He is suddenly filled with his natural spark of adventure. He has certainly mellowed out more recent years but still Steven feels like he can’t always deny his desire for discovery. He had explored most of the boardwalk before he was 10 and much of Beach City as a whole by 13. 

Connie tightens her hold on him, afraid he will drag her off to find this mystical place she has just told him about. Steven has had a habit since childhood to drag her into dancing, into playing some game with him, into chasing down their curiosity. Even these days he will drag her off to see romantic sights, to someplace they can learn something new, to somewhere he can kiss her without interruption… 

Connie has probably spent half her life following after the whims of Steven Universe.

“But,” she says with emphasis, “I want to see that last. So we can spend the most time there.”

Steven sighs with a smile, “Okay fine. We’ll go there last. If that’s what you want.”

“Thanks.” 

They don’t release hands as he leans over to look into the tank with his head tilted to one side. Unsurprisingly Steven goes immediately to look in the actual tank while Connie’s focus is drawn to the plaque on the wall next to the tank to read about this specimen. There is quite a bit of distance between them so their arms have to stretch but they would both rather stay connected with strained arms then break their hold.

“Cool, Star Fish,” Steven said, poking the thick glass that the sea creature is settled on.

"It's a Bat Star," Connie explains, joining him to look into the tank having gathered the information presented, "It says they come in a lot of colors like pink and green but most are orange. You can find them all along Mexico and they like to live on rocks. Most starfish do."

Steven moves his finger to the middle of his shirt trying to get it’s attention. If it could even give him any and he talks directly to the creature in the tank, “Hey, bud. Check it out, we match!”

"It can't hear you, silly," Connie giggles with her free hand over her mouth.

"I know it can't hear me," Steven chuckles, "But it's still polite to make conversation."

"Oh Steven, such a gentleman," Connie replies with her free hand pressed to her cheek before she points at the creature, "They've got this webbing between their arms. So it kind of looks like they have bat wings. That's where they get their name. Bat Star."

Steven stands back up and puts on a thinking face, "Does that mean if it bit me I would turn into a Starfish person?"

"That's vampires, not bats," she laughs, standing up to lead him to the next tank. "I'm not even sure Starfish can bite you."

“Well, it’s a good thing it’s behind glass in case it can.” Steven stops at the next tank, “That way everyone can stay safe.”

“You know there are sharks here, right?” she questions. His eyes light up again. Apparently not.

“There are! Whoa! Can we go see them next?” Steven asks as if he is a kid and he needs her permission first. She feels a soft yet powerful flutter in her chest. Steven’s childlike wonder even at almost 20 years old is one of her favorite things about him.

“Of course we can, silly,” she answers, tucking the pamphlet she was using into her pocket. What had made her even think Steven was going to stick to her planned route and not want to race off to the most interesting things immediately? Connie tries so hard to be mad at him but it’s a pointless endeavor. His spirit and passion come through in nearly everything he does and make her more infatuated with him every time.

She turns her attention to the plaque on the side once again as Steven looks for the creature that’s meant to be inside the tank. She is in the middle of reading when she feels Steven lean over her shoulder. She feels a tingle run up and down her back as his breath hits her neck. Steven can’t find the animal and had decided to look at the picture to help him see what he is looking for. Once he knows he goes back to looking for it in the tank.

Connie glances at Steven then brings her attention back to the description of the sea creature. Her face is hot. She sometimes feels a little silly at how flustered she can get around Steven. They’ve been together since they were around 16 which at this point was years ago. Yet he can still manage to make her swoon a little. Especially when he gets close to her like that.

"This one is a Bluespine Unicornfish," Connie informs him, in part to distract herself from her own feelings.

"Are all fish named after other animals?" he asks with a soft yet somehow full laugh. He feels her shivering a bit and wonders if she is cold. It’s not very warm in the dimly lit building and while his body runs hot, Connie’s often runs cold. Steven pulls her closer and rubs his hand on her arm, feeling goosebumps on her skin and her hair sticking up. Two physical reactions that he incorrectly assumes are from the slight chill in the room.

It does nothing to calm Connie's heart. He’s basically the cutest and sweetest guy imaginable. There is a slur to her words as she says, "A unicorn isn't an animal."

"Huh?” What else would it be?"

"Nothing. They aren't _real."_

"Not being real doesn't make them any less of an animal," Steven says with a slight shrug, unsure why running his hand on her arm isn’t making her warmer and pulls it away, "We should show respect to all creatures, imaginary and real."

"I do suppose they’re feelings would be hurt if they heard me saying they aren't animals." Connie twirls her finger in her hair while her other hand becomes sweaty. "We wouldn't want them to feel bad."

"Exactly," Steven replies then leans close to the tank, "Are they called unicornfish because of those spikes on their heads?"

"That would make sense," she says daring to take a step closer. He smells really nice today too. He probably put a nice fragrance on knowing that he was taking her out. She clears her throat as she composes herself and focuses on the information not him, "Although no one knows why they even have them. At least that's what it says here."

"So they just have a horn sticking out of their head that does nothing?"

"Well, it could be used for fighting off predators or collecting food." She thinks a moment then she continues, "I think I'd use it to have sword fights with other unicornfish."

"I'll bet you would," Steven laughs as he pokes her forehead. Connie giggles again, perhaps more shyly then she did before. Steven's finger shifts to push some loose hair behind her ear, "The uniconniefish."

Connie doesn’t come from a family heavy on physical affection. She has never been touched by anyone as much as she has Steven. Starting from the day they met into the present Steven tries to find any excuse to touch Connie. Any excuse at any time. Mr. Universe is the same way with his son taking every opportunity he is given to hug or pat Steven. The Gems will often touch him as well. She wasn’t raised that way though so the only person she has that kind of contact with is him. It’s a bit ridiculous how overwhelming that can still be even this far into their relationship.

Connie shivers again which Steven once again misinterprets.

He lets go of her hand for the first time since they entered the building, unzips his hoodie and pulls it off. Before she can say anything, the far too large for her garment is over her shoulders. On instinct she puts her arms through the sleeves. Her hands just barely reach out of the ends. Once it’s on, Steven zips the hoodie back up for her. She doesn’t know how to tell him her body was already much hotter than is comfortable and both the piece of clothing and the gesture have made it so much worse.

Smiling, he takes her hand, “You can tell me if you get cold. I’m fine. You know I’m always hot.”

“Yeah,” she says with a long dreamy sigh, “You are.”

“What?” he asks with a nervous blush and a chuckle as if her meaning wasn't clear.

"Nothing," she says as if simply thinking _her boyfriend_ is attractive is somehow a taboo thought. She pulls him along.

"Alright," Steven says. Connie can get uncomfortable with how much he touches her at times. Not because she doesn’t like it and he knows she does. Her discomfort instead comes from how intimate she sees it. Touch is a natural part of Steven’s life, for Connie’s it’s a rarity.

Steven lets himself be led to the next tank by her hand. Suddenly everything about her is much more interesting than the fish. The determined way she walks to keep them on a schedule to see everything but also trying to make the pace casual enough for them to still enjoy. The way she foregoes looking in the water to check the pamphlet or read the plaques first. How her hand will start to slip due to sweaty palms but she adjusts it to tighten her hold. Steven sometimes wonders if he would follow Connie to the ends of the Earth and back. Which is ludicrous to even think about.

Of course he would. As many times as she wanted him to.

"...ing Anemone." He hears her say as her eyes follow the words to the side of the tank.

"Huh?" he asks and she turns to look over at him. He hadn’t been listening to what she said as much as her tone. Steven likes to hear Connie talk. Her voice is pretty. Soft and high-pitched but full of personality and passion. He would rather spend his night listening to Connie read one of her school books aloud to him than do pretty much anything else.

"That's what this one is called. A Fish-Eating Anemone," she repeats, slowly this time but not condescendingly. He appreciates that. Steven often has to question people on what they mean since his experience in the human world is limited. Their rolling eyes and annoyed sighs have caused him to bite his tongue on asking on a few occasions. He never feels that way with her. She doesn’t see it as a burden.

"So this one actually… eats other fish," Steven says, sounding displeased by that. She smirks to herself while trying to read the words in front of her. He makes it hard to concentrate sometimes. While it's not a sentiment she personally shares she is not surprised he doesn't like hearing that. To Connie it’s a normal part of nature. However Steven has been a vegetarian for half a decade. He certainly didn't make the diet switch for the health benefits either. She admires his dedication to the desires of his sweet, bleeding heart.

"Most fish eat other fish, silly."

"They do?"

"Of course they do." She bumps her shoulder into his shoulder when she moves closer to look. She decides not to remind him the sharks he is so excited to see also eat fish. "They live in the ocean. What else would they eat?"

"Ocean plants," he answers, pulling a thinking face, "Plants can grow under water. Aren't Sea Cucumbers a thing?"

Connie giggles, "They are. But that's also an animal. Not an underwater cucumber."

"Why would someone name an animal after a vegetable?” Steven asks, this time being the one to lead them towards the next tank. He’s not too interested in this tank. “That's really confusing. Almost as confusing as those fish named after other animals.”

“Are you really one to judge other people naming things?”

“What does that mean?”

“You’re terrible at naming things.”

“Hey, that’s not very nice!”

“It’s true though,” Connie says, trying to feel bad about making him frown rather than finding it irresistibly adorable, “Your lion is named Lion.”

“Lion loves his name,” Steven counters, poking her in the side when a laugh escapes her lips. That only makes her laugh more. She hops away but their joined hands prevent her from going too far from him.

“Sure, he does,” she says, rolling her eyes, “Just don’t expect me to let you name the kids.”

Connie and Steven stop dead in their tracks at almost the exact same time after she says that. Connie puts her hand to her mouth as she knows the color is draining from her face. Her eyes go wide. Her body is stiff and her hold on Steven’s hand loosens. Steven is still as well but not frozen in panic the way she is. In fact he is trying to stave off a smile. He looks her way to see her close her eyes in embarrassment as she pulls her hand away from her mouth. From that alone he understands she still isn’t ready to talk about this yet. It had just slipped out in passing. They haven’t had that conversation. He knows what he wants and it’s nice to hear she at least thinks about it too. Although Connie hasn’t had any serious thoughts about her and Steven and… _kids,_ that doesn’t mean she never thinks about it. In optimistic daydreams and “what if” plans for her future the fantasy of a “Universe family” comes to mind. It’s not an idea she hates.

Connie shuffles her feet, knowing without even looking at him that Steven has lost the battle with his adoring, dreamy smile and is staring at her. She bites her lip, afraid to speak for fear of how it might impact him. Steven, however, notices a sign nearby and tightens his hold on her hand to start pulling her towards the hall he had spotted.

“Come on, I wanna see those sharks,” he says, moving on from the topic. She is grateful to him. She allows herself to be led into the next section of the aquarium where they will soon see sharks.

This part of the aquarium is darker than the last part. The tanks are also much bigger here, taking up most of the walls on either side of the room. Steven's eyes go wide and his jaw goes slack. It's actually pretty amazing. Connie stares at him rather than the animals, taking in how happy he is to be there. She tries to focus on how happy she is that he is happy. She's shaking a little as she watches him. The exchange earlier has put her off a bit. She tries to focus on the information presented before her and not her own verbal implications. He's distracted enough by the deadly, swimming creature that she's free to catch her breath a little.

"What's that one called?" Steven asks, pointing at one of the streaks of grey as it swims around about them.

"That's, uh, a Great Hammerhead Shark," she says, forcing her eyes to focus on the writing before her. "It's called that because it's "the largest hammerhead shark, with the most distinctly hammer-shaped head" which is where it gets its name."

"Oh yeah, that makes sense," he says then snickers, "You think there are any _sawhead_ sharks out there for them to hang out with?"

Connie laughs despite herself. Her state makes it come out as a twittering sound. Steven's ears perk up at the sound as it's definitely one he knows well and is often proud he causes. A dopey smile comes to his own face.

"Actually," she says, matter-of-factually, "Sawfishes exist. That's a type of shark."

"Whoa, really?" he asks, _almost_ forgetting their flirtation in his desire to see another impressive sea predator. She pushes up his hoodie sleeve with her free hand and he remembers his infatuation with her.

"Yeah," she says, pulling him further into the room and looking all along the long flat surface in front of the glass that stretches around the room. She is searching to see if she can find information on the shark she means and luckily she finds it, "Here!"

She proudly points to the section of the information screen that shows off the one she mentioned. He looks over the words and then his eyes scan the tank. When he sees the creature his mouth drops into an "O" shape as his eyes sparkle brightly. Connie loses her breath watching him watch the world in wonder. He's the most handsome man she has ever seen and that has little to do with his appearance.

She clears her throat to force her out of her head, "See? A Longcomb Sawfish. Though it's actually not a shark…"

"It's not?" he asks but his eyes stay on the massive animal making its way past their faces only a few feet away, divided only by thick glass.

"No," she confirms then points to the information she found, "It says right here. 'Despite the shark-like appearance of their bodies, sawfishes are actually members of the ray family.' So it's not a shark."

"How does it swim so well with that huge thing on its face?"

"That's how it eats, I think." She checks the information, "Yeah, that's how it eats."

"That's so cool," he says with the same amount of wonder he has had for most of the day. Steven loves being able to see and learn new things. The only thing that makes it better is being about to see and learn new things with Connie. 

Steven looks over at Connie, who always seems determined to memorize the facts laid out in front of her before even looking up at the animal. She knows a lot already. She's easily the smartest person he has ever met. She has finally turned her eyes up to the creature and while she does not make the same face of awe he did, he can see she is fascinated by the sight as well.

However nowhere near as fascinated as he is with her.

Steven smirks at her, stepping closer. Rather than pointing to another of the large underwater creatures, he instead points to the information in front of them. She looks at his finger when she notices then over at him. His voice is much deeper than he intends as he says, "Tell me more about the sharks."

Connie starts doing that thing she does where she awkwardly twists her mouth and stares hard at whatever is right in front of her without actually seeing it. She is embarrassed but not in a bad kind of way. She can get like that sometimes with him. It’s flattering that a girl as pretty and as smart and just generally as amazing as Connie swoons over _him._

"A lot of people think they're dangerous," she begins leading him along the side of the tank so they can watch the creatures while she talks, "They aren't. A shark won't bother you if you leave it alone. They don't really like to eat people."

"So then why are people afraid of them?" he asks, torn on watching the sharks and watching her as she talks. Even laced with a hint of anger, her voice is wonderful to listen to.

"Sharks get confused," she starts to rant, "They see people on surfboards and think they're seals or something else they eat. Most of the time they don't kill the person after they attack. Because they don't _want_ to eat people. But because they attack, people get scared and attack back. A lot of these are _endangered_ because humans won't leave them alone!"

"Oh," he says, softly. "That's really sad."

"Yeah, it is," she agrees then focuses on his face again, "I'm sorry. That's not great talk for a date."

"No way." Steven waves her off, then adds on quite shyly, "I think it's great every time you talk, Connie. Especially when you care about what you're talking about."

Just like that she is practically melting into the floor again. She knows he means it and that's the part that gets to her heart. Steven isn't being facetious. He is being completely genuine. It's so flattering that it's enough to make a young woman like Connie lose track of herself. She turns away from him with that same twisted, shy smile of hers. Steven smirks to himself as he quickly looks back at the tank then to her again.

"Oh no, what happened? All of the sharks are gone," Steven complains with a fake sounding groan. Connie is too in her own head to notice how false it sounds in comparison to his real voice.

"What? How?" she says, looking up and over to the water. While most of it is empty, down in one corner she sees something that is moving. Even looking at it for just a moment shows it's clearly meant to be one of the animals in the tank. It’s hidden but there’s no way Steven is so oblivious that he missed it. If so he’d see one if he just looked a little harder.

"Steven." Connie rolls her eyes, sure he is trying to play a joke. She moves closer to the tank and by extension him to point at the corner, continuing to explain, "There is something right there."

"Huh? Where?" he asks her, intentionally looking everywhere in the tank but where the shark is. She tries to stifle her laugh. He’s not even trying to be convincing. He is being blatantly ignorant, or rather playing the part in an obvious way. She bends around his body to look and point at the creature with more emphasis.

“It’s right-”

His lips touch hers before she finishes.

It’s quick and light but it’s definitely there. He has a blush on his face but he is smirking at her. She realizes the surprise kiss was his intention from the start and if she was flustered before she is even worse now. Steven is playful and a little mischievous. His gentle, romantic nature makes her forget that at times. He doesn’t tease her the same way she does him. It’s different. He likes to make her blush or stutter or lose her balance. He enjoys giving her weak knees and quickening her heartbeat.

Connie is a somewhat masculine person. She wouldn’t go so far as to say she’s even a tomboy, let alone call herself a butch young woman. She certainly doesn’t see herself as particularly feminine either though. Steven often comes off far more feminine than her in her mind actually. Basically “womanly” is not the first thing that comes up playing word association with “Connie.” She hates to even think this because the very concept itself is just a tactic of the patriarchy to keep women oppressed.

But Steven makes Connie feel very girlish. In the best of ways.

“Hi,” he says in that deep voice with his mouth still close enough to her mouth for his breath to brush her lips. Another shiver makes its way up and down her spine.

“Hi,” she answers, a little self-conscious about the slight stutter in her voice. How can a guy that she has been dating for literal _years_ still do this to her? She turns and stands up straight. "Let's keep going."

She starts to pull him out of the room before he answers her, having forgotten about his interest in the sharks. Though to be fair Steven is also too caught up in admiring her to remember they are there to look at animals. It’s hard for the pair to think with their brains drowning in oxycontin.

She pulls him into the next room not sure where she is taking him. She leads him down a promising looking hall with a few tanks on one side and a flat shiny wall on the other. They fall into a rhythm with it. Steven and Connie adapt to each other quickly and their habits adjust. Steven has noticed how his routine will change when Connie visits and how fast they each settle into it. Within a day it's like she's been there the whole time. They are just so naturally in-tune with one another it feels like nothing.

Before turning the corner at the end of the hall she stops. She's found an opportunity to get him back for his attempts to make her flustered. She clears her throat in as serious a tone as she can manage before she exclaims, "Wow, I think that's the best thing so far!"

"What?" Steven says, looking around and wondering what she is talking about. As far as he can see the end of the hall they're in is mostly empty with no animals nearby. He does a full 360 trying to find whatever has caught his girlfriend's attention while she smiles behind his back. He can't seem to find anything of interest. He attempts to face Connie again but instead he feels her arms circle his neck and pull him to face one side of the room.

Unlike the chaste kiss he laid on her lips, she plants a firmer, more suggestive kiss under his jaw against his neck. He feels his body temperature skyrocket. He knows that she knows he is blushing without her having to look. Connie is unnerved much more by overtly romantic advances and Steven is unnerved by more sensual ones. They've both become experts on how to make the other fall apart with the feeling of love and attraction.

With a smirk, Connie points off to the side and he follows with his gaze. The wall on the opposite side is somewhat reflective. Enough so that it's a clear picture of the two of them, together. Steven bites down on his lip as he realizes what she is going to say before she does.

"That," she practically whispers. She has a hard time caring that while they are alone at the moment, the possibility of someone finding them far too cozy with one another out in the open is high. Neither is put off on public displays of affection. "That has to be my favorite thing we've seen all day."

Steven wraps his arm around her back as she has yet to release her hold on him and scratches the back of his head, trying to hide his nerves, "They're a cute couple."

"Yeah, they are," she agrees as her fingers drift up into his hair. His body goes stiff, her doing that feels just a bit too private for where they currently are. She's pushing it a little, probably on purpose.

Steven smirks, stepping back slightly to say teasingly, "Did you know that it's their anniversary today?"

Connie rolls her eyes as she lets go of him and also steps back. Though she's smiling when she says, "No, I'm pretty sure it's not for another two days."

He shakes his head, "No, definitely today. He's pretty confident about it."

She tries to hide her giggle, "And she is pretty confident he is wrong."

"Aww that's not very nice of her," he says in a fake whine, "He was really excited to take her to the aquarium today which is lucky for them. It's free on Wednesday."

"Is that the reason he insisted that this was their anniversary," she replies with sass in her words, "So he didn't have to pay to get into the aquarium?"

"No. That wouldn't be right, silly. It's just a happy coincidence!" Steven laughs then grabs her hand again to lead her around the corner. She doesn't follow him though. Connie stays still as she stares up at him in curiosity. He is forced to stop and wait to see what she is doing.

"Steven," she starts, unsure what has finally brought this on. She's been content for years to let him believe whatever it is he does and celebrate two anniversaries, "Why _do_ you think this is our anniversary?"

"Huh?" he asks, surprised by the question neither has ever bothered to ask, "What do you mean?"

"What do you take it from?" she explains, "An anniversary celebrates the date that your relationship began. What makes you think of this as the day we first started our romantic relationship?"

Steven thinks a minute then instead of answering her, he asks back, "Well, why do you think our relationship started two days from now?"

Connie raises an eyebrow and cocks her head to the side, "Two days from now is the same date as the day we kissed for the first time. Or the first time you kissed me anyway. As in, really kissed me. The way a boyfriend does."

They both get giddy from the memory. There was nothing special about the day. They weren't anywhere they hadn't been before then. They weren't doing anything out of the ordinary. There had been no confessions of love. It had been a day like any other day. Nothing had happened to spur it on as far as Connie could tell even though the circumstances were romantic. They had been sitting on the deck outside of his room watching the sun go down over the ocean. Steven told a joke, she laughed softly with joyful tears and the next thing she knew he was kissing her. 

To Connie it makes no sense that Steven, ever the hopeless romantic and lover of all things smaltz, doesn't consider something like that the beginning of their relationship.

Connie shrugs and continues speaking, "Don't you think our first real kiss makes more sense for our anniversary than whatever happened today 4 years ago?"

Steven puts on a thinking face, not sure if he is able to explain his own reasoning for this being their anniversary date, "I guess it does if you put it like that."

She smiles, recognizing that the cogs are turning in his head, "Okay, so then why do you insist this is our anniversary?"

Steven looks away with another blush on his face. This one is less just embarrassed and more bordering on shame. He sighs, while shuffling his feet around, "I take it from the day that I knew I wanted to spend my life with you."

"What?" she asks, taken aback by that. She wasn't aware there was any point in which she or Steven _didn't_ know they were going to spend their whole lives together.

Steven can sense what she is thinking and tries to clarify, "Not like when we were kids and I just assumed that we were going to get married someday. This was different." 

"What? What does that mean?"

"Well, when I asked you to… that first time I asked you, that wasn't about you and me, it was just about me feeling-" He cuts himself off there, not wanting to go down that rabbit hole. "Us spending our lives together was such a fantasy. I wanted it but in this perfect way. The way you see in a book or a movie.

"That time. This day four years ago it was about me realizing that we were going to spend our lives together in a real way and how much I wanted that to finally start.

Steven shifts closer, "We were in my room and you were going over something that had to do with American history. For your summer work. Early farming or something. You sat down to show me some basic stuff then you just stopped talking. You pointed to the page and said 'What? That's wrong.' Like it was a fact and not your opinion. Then you went on a rant about outdated textbooks, lack of school funding and even if it does get funding it never goes to the right places. You kept going and going on. I actually learned some important stuff. But I also remember thinking, 'Wow, I could listen to her do this for hours.'

"I really love to listen to you talk, Connie."

Connie would swear she can feel her heart beating against her chest, "Oh, Steven…"

"Outside all the grandiose true love stuff that has happened between you and me," he continues trying to be as articulate as he possibly can, "It was so simple. It was so _real._ I realized that was what our future looks like and it made me happy. I really wanted to kiss you.

Steven shoves his hands into his pocket as he looks away, "I didn't get the chance to though so-"

"You did it two days later," Connie finishes.

"Well, that was the next time I saw you."

She knows she looks like a love-struck, ridiculous mess of emotions as she steps into his personal space, "Steven Universe, you are the most amazing person I have ever met. I'm so excited to spend my life with you."

It's Steven's turn to make that twisting, unsure, red-faced, small smile. He pokes his pointer fingers together and looks to the side as he says, "You know, that's why I brought you here today. Listening to you teach me stuff is one of my favorite things in the world."

Connie can't help herself after that. It's not the place but she doesn't care. She kisses him full on the lips. Not like either of the kisses before it. A real, firm kiss filled with deep affection. A kiss where she has to brace her hands on his face and his hands fall to her biceps to pull her close. A kiss that starts as one led by her but quickly turns into one led by him and his endless passion for her. A kiss that lasts too long and is followed by another that lasts even longer than the first one. Connie giggles against Steven's lips before she is silenced by his kiss again.

Connie takes a step back in hopes of breaking the kiss but Steven just follows after her. Not that she actually minds him continuing his pursuit of her. A second step presses them to the wall behind her. Their lips fall apart for a moment only to come back together again. This time far too deep and intimate. Connie has to shift her hands to push Steven back from her. Reluctantly, he obeys.

"Not now," she whispers because they are so close.

"Yeah we probably shouldn't do this here," he whispers back.

With a nod, she somehow leans in closer to say, "The fish might see us and I don't want to make them uncomfortable."

He laughs as he takes a step back so he is no longer pinning her up against the wall. He reaches for her hand and she accepts. She pushes herself off the wall but doesn't move into his space. They stand there, holding hands and smiling at one another for a long moment. Connie feels the same kind of contentment she assumes that Steven has felt all day.

"Alright, so we saw the sharks," he says as he interlaces their fingers together and pulls her around the corner. She follows this time without any hesitation. "Let's go see that spot that's supposed to be like the ocean now. The one you were telling me about before."

"I'd like that," she says as they head down the path. There is a lot more to see but their old schedule has been completely abandoned by this point. 

"Connie," Steven says as they walk along, swinging their hands gently.

"Yeah?" she asks back.

"Will you tell me more about the ocean habitat before we get there?"

Connie smiles as she struggles with one hand to dig out and open up the pamphlet that she's been carrying around all day. She turns to the page while Steven pulls her closer to him. She finds the section she is looking for and begins to read it.

This is what Steven thinks their future looks like. If that's true, Connie can say that she has no complaints.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed but especially you Ramen!


End file.
